WTB pre-wired replacement harness for semi with 2 pickups, 1 volume, 2 tones and 3 way toggle
Evening All
I have a lovely old (late 60s/early 70s) Kilra Neptune semi acoustic (made in Germany), but the pots/wiring etc have been playing up for ages and have finally given up almost completely. The pickups themselves seem to be OK but I think that it is definitely time for a full repair or replacement of the 3 pots, wiring and maybe the input jack.
It is bit of a pain to work on tbh because it only has one F hole ( the top 1), so messing with the electrics has to happen through the fairly narrow pickup cavities. That said, I like a bit of a challenge so I am tempted to try and have a go myself before giving up and taking it to someone like Feline, who are fairly local to me.
I think it will be easier/quicker just to replace all of the pots and wiring in one go and was thinking I'd just buy a pre-wired harness to drop in - using either the dental floss or heatshrink tubing trick (I'm not fussed about keeping the pots vintage)...but the trouble is I can't seem to source one anywhere - anybody out there got any ideas where I could get one, or should I just take it to Feline?
The pickups look like P90s but I am not entirely sure - they sound great in a honky, micrpophonic kind of way ! - and I think that original pots are close to 250K. The toggle switch is near the pickguard, so doesn't need a long wire.
Comments
Possibly, the greatest concern would be the diameter of the pot, jack and selector switch holes. The stock hardware could be smaller (Metric) than your chosen replacements.
Expect ready-made wiring harnesses to be built to fit the most popular designs. i.e. ES-335, ES-175. Your guitar may require different cable run lengths.
Probably easier to hand the entire task over to Feline.
Expect ready-made wiring harnesses to be built to fit the most popular designs. i.e. ES-335, ES-175. Your guitar may require different cable run lengths.
Probably easier to hand the entire task over to Feline.
Thanks @Funkfingers, that is exactly the sort of common sense answer i was hoping for! :)
Having this kind of work performed by a reputable guitar repair/builder adds nothing to the monetary value of your instrument. On the other hand, should you ever need to sell up in the future, the receipts for the work should reassure most buyers that your guitar is worth the money that you ask for it.
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Speaking for myself, I liked the rubber tube kit illustrated in a TV Jones website video about upgrading a Chinese Gretsch hollowbody guitar. The kit only seemed to be available in the USA. I side-stepped this issue by flipping my G5655TG rather than investing loadsamoney into it.
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Speaking for myself, I liked the rubber tube kit illustrated in a TV Jones website video about upgrading a Chinese Gretsch hollowbody guitar. The kit only seemed to be available in the USA. I side-stepped this issue by flipping my G5655TG rather than investing loadsamoney into it.
Hmm. Good points - I was thinking of maybe selling the Klira at some point soon, as I don't really play it much, nice as it is, so investing in some tech work isn't that appealing if I could do it myself with a bit of patience and effort...another alternative is to sell it as a project but that is just going to invite low ball offers!